The term “barn find” seems to be banded around willy-nilly these days, but this one really is a barn find, as it was found in a barn, well a shed actually… anyway what’s the difference!? There is something rather captivating about old French vintage bikes and this one is no exception.
This lovely old motorcycle is a 1927 Terrot HTC, and is in the lucky hands of Daniel Streuli. For those who don’t know much about the French marque, here is a quick run down, starting from the beginning.
A number of manufacturers that popped up in the heyday of the motorcycle started life in the textile world, and Terrot were no exception. The French company was founded by Charles Terrot who produced knitting machines in his factory at rue André-Colomban à Dijon. In 1899 Charles entered into the combustion movement, first with a quadricycle, then with a two-seater voiturette, and then in 1902, with the all-important motorcycle.
Terrot continued to use proprietary engines from the likes of MAG, Dufeaux, Chater-Lea, JAP and Givaudan, and when war hit, the factory continued to churn out motorcycles for the French Army. At the end of the conflict, rumours surfaced that Terrot had colluded with opposition and the company was confiscated by the state. It was taken over in 1921 by a bunch of industrialists headed by Alfred Vurpillot and turned into a public liability company. This is when Terrot really took off, boosted the following year when Terrot formed a partnership with Magnat-Debon.
It was not until 1925 that Terrot started to produce their own power, and in 1926, in came the 350cc side-valve H model that featured Druid forks and an automatic Pilgrim oil pump.
The machine pictured is the HTC model. The T stands for Touriste, and the C for Confort, or luxury. It was picked up by Daniel Streuli not far from the Terrot factory (the previous owner was clearly a petrol head as he had a farm full of machinery including a late 1920s Salmson race car and a shed full of early motorcycles).
The HTC was sat in a quiet corner and a deal was struck. It is not currently on the road, however Daniel is in the process of collecting all the required parts to bring it back to life. Watch this space…
Thank you to Daniel Streuli for his input on this story. Photo credits to Remko van Diggelen.
an article by The Girder Club
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